I hesitated initially. Was it appropriate to publish this post when my blog is basically about fashion, beauty and lifestyle for women of a certain age? However I am a writer. I use words to express my feelings and this is an issue that is very important to me and, I'm sure, many other women of a certain age. We care about what is happening in the world, even if it doesn't directly affect us.
People who know me are aware that I'm anything but a royalist, however I was inspired by the words of the Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle): "I wanted to say the right thing. I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing." Click on the link to hear what she had to say.
As a woman I have experienced discrimination from an early age, although there have been laws over the decades to help us in our fight for equality. Things aren't perfect, but they are better than they were. However what I've experienced is nothing compared to the discrimination black women have known over the years.
Similarly, there has been legislation to improve things for people of colour, but clearly not enough has been done. The problem lies in people's in-built prejudices, so we need education as well as legislation.
As a white woman who is British - even though nowadays I live in Spain - I grew up trusting the police and believed that they were there to protect me. Sadly, black people have not enjoyed the same confidence and there have been too many tragic incidents to allow them to trust the police in the way that I did. This is true not only in the USA but also in the UK and many other countries around the world. We need change. We need to stand up and declare that we are anti-racist and fight for that change. We need to say that for all of us Black Lives do Matter.
If you would like to take action, as action speaks louder than mere words, please click on this link: It's nice that. You will find petitions to sign, funds and charities to donate to and resources for educating yourself and those around you. Thank you.
